Mide’s group stayed in the Tetra territory for five days.
Of course, that doesn’t an they spent the whole ti idling.
They used every skill at their disposal to help with the reconstruction of the territory.
They rebuilt destroyed hos and shops, healed the wounded, and encouraged the weary and struggling.
‘Mr. Kaeld never really did this sort of thing.’
Mide is a strange one.
Or rather—maybe this is what a true hero looks like?
‘Well, co to think of it, Grade-nim acted like Mide too.’
Mide and Grade really are alike.
But she never once thought that Kaeld resembled Grade.
Though she hadn’t openly said she’d join Mide’s party, the truth was that Lisel had already made up her mind.
Five days later, Mide left first, simply saying he was counting on them.
He reminded her several tis to stay hidden in spirit form.
Lisel didn’t really understand why she had to be so cautious around Kaeld, but for now, she decided to follow the word of her ‘new’ leader.
After that, she waited in Tetra territory for two more days.
Two days later.
Kaeld and Serein appeared at the entrance of the territory.
Lisel imdiately sent a wind spirit to Serein.
Then she disappeared from the world into spirit form and eavesdropped on them.
Serein called out loudly.
“Lisel-siiiii! Lisel! Where are you!”
“That’s enough. Stop.”
“Huh?”
“Lisel left us.”
“Whaaat.”
Serein’s mouth fell open.
“Why are you so sure?”
At that mont—
Lisel, observing Kaeld through her spirit, got the feeling sothing was off.
Kaeld wasn’t looking at Serein, who was speaking to him. He was gazing into empty space.
He slowly scanned ‘the air’ and then spoke.
“It’s a hero’s intuition.”
“…I can’t trust that anymore.”
“Care to repeat that?”
“Ahaha… Was I too loud? Sorry.”
“Shouldn’t you apologize for saying it at all?”
Serein brushed it off with a laugh.
Kaeld stared at her for a mont, then said,
“Let’s go. There’s nothing left for us in this territory.”
“Oh, so now it’s just the two of us, huh.”
“And?”
“…Um. Please don’t get mad at for saying this.”
“I’ll decide after I hear it.”
“Kaeld, can you really grant my wish?”
Kaeld’s eyebrows rose.
“Why? You think I can’t?”
“It’s just… I an, in a lot of ways, Mide has beat…”
“Then why don’t you go join Mide? Like you said, it’s just you and left in this party.”
Serein made a troubled face.
Scratching her head, she mumbled,
“He just seems too nice. I don’t think we’d get along.”
“I figured that’s what you’d say. Which ans I’m your only option, right?”
“…”
“Unlike Lisel, I never expected deep loyalty or a sense of belonging from you. So I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said. But be more careful from now on.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Kaeld nodded and checked the page in front of him.
< Lisel Vint has joined Mide’s party. >
< Hint: Make sure to secure Serein Magnus. Lisel is planning to convince her to defect to Mide’s party. >
Kaeld rubbed his forehead.
‘I really thought Lisel was on my side.’
How the hell did he manage to recruit her?
…Could it be that guy was the true destined hero?
Grit.
Kaeld clenched his teeth without realizing it.
No. That’s impossible.
That can’t be.
The hero is supposed to be Bion Kunze, isn’t he?
Kaeld pulled himself together and spoke.
“I’ve decided on our next destination.”
“We’re chasing Mide?”
Serein asked, but Kaeld shook his head.
“No. I hate to admit it, but going after him now would be too dangerous.”
“Then where?”
“Let’s head to the Dronoar territory. The lord there should be sick.”
“I can heal him. Got it.”
They started walking.
Just before leaving the territory, Serein looked back.
‘Still, it’s a little sad. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Lisel.’
Three days after leaving the Tetra territory.
While traveling in a carriage, I spoke to Trail.
‘Did you finish collecting the data?’
[Yeah.]
‘Show the numbers. Let’s see the gap between and Kaeld.’
[You got it.]
Soon, the screen appeared.
< Mide Mohan – Accumulated Fa: 55,760 >
< Kaeld Wake – Accumulated Fa: 27,980 >
My eyes widened.
Sure, my fa had surpassed 55,000—but that wasn’t what surprised .
‘Kaeld’s fa dropped?’
Last ti I checked, his fa was definitely a bit over 35,000.
[Looks like your plan worked a little too well.]
‘Huh.’
[Pretty satisfying, honestly. He went through hell and got less famous for it. If it were , I’d cry into my pillow at night.]
‘Yeah, that does sound like you.’
[Hey, I didn’t an that literally. Why do you only take the weird parts seriously?]
‘Anyway, I can’t just be happy about this.’
[Eh?]
I sighed lightly and said,
‘Since I t you, I’ve never once seen my fa drop. Sa goes for Kaeld.’
[…]
‘I wanted this result, but seeing Kaeld’s fa fall with my own eyes is still shocking. I’d better be careful.’
Trail scoffed.
[It’s good to be cautious, but aren’t you being a bit too careful? I can’t even imagine you doing anything to lower your fa.]
‘Of course I wouldn’t. But still…’
I trailed off and looked at Neril.
Trail seed to understand what I ant.
[Ah. Right. The infamy of the Witch of Carnage is definitely a minus for your reputation. So that’s why you’re working so hard to stop any more tragedies.]
‘It’s not stopping them—it’s Neril holding back. She’s an incredibly cooperative party mber.’
[Hmm.]
‘I can’t keep hiding Neril’s identity from the public forever. Once it’s revealed, my fa might take a hit too.’
That’s why I need to ti it right.
But timing is tricky—because of Xenia.
Her secret pact with Da. The weakness Da holds over Neril.
Xenia’s deep respect for her father.
How do I untangle this ss?
Just then, Xenia suddenly spoke.
“Now that Mr. Offense is officially part of the party, how about we throw a welco party or sothing?”
“I don’t really need that.”
“Ah, I knew Mr. Offense would agree.”
“That’s strange. Did I say sothing wrong?”
Neril chuckled and interjected.
“She just wants an excuse to eat at.”
“Mm. That makes sense. I could tell from the first ti I t her.”
“You’re pretty sharp.”
“I get that a lot.”
As Xenia pouted, Adwin quickly spoke.
“I’d be up for it too. But if we’re going to have a proper welco party, we’ll need to find an inn or a restaurant…”
He glanced at .
So did the rest of the party.
That’s not the kind of look you give when wondering if we’ll have a place to sleep tonight, is it?
I chuckled softly.
“You want to tell you where we’re heading next, right, Adwin?”
“Heh. Precisely. You ordinary humans need at least so kind of marker to follow, after all.”
Offense tilted his head in confusion.
“What’s this now?”
“Don’t go saying this or that to our Adwin. He’s been hurt a lot, emotionally.”
“You’re the one saying worse things.”
…Anyway, next destination.
To be honest, it’s already decided. Just like always.
“We’re going to…”
It was at that mont.
Bzzzz.
Suddenly, a blue light glowed from inside Xenia’s robe.
She looked puzzled, pulled out a crystal orb—and then her face turned to shock.
“It’s Sir Tivre!”
“Who’s Tivre?”
“Wow, Neril, you really have no interest in , huh?”
“Better late than never.”
“…You seriously don’t know?”
Seeing her unexpectedly hurt expression, Neril flailed her hands in panic.
“Hey. I was just ssing with you. He’s the guy you sent to investigate the incident with the Ophelia kid.”
“Pfft.”
“…Wait, were you making fun of just now?”
“Better late than never.”
As Neril scowled, Xenia activated the orb.
“Sir Tivre.”
—Lady Xenia. It’s been a while.
“Yes. What’s the progress on what I requested?”
—You ask that before even saying hello?
“Hello.”
Tivre let out a deep sigh.
—Ophelia’s last mission site has been safely reached, and the investigation is complete.
Investigation.
The investigation Xenia had asked of him was to identify the mage from the Holy Knights who had initially reported Ophelia’s disappearance as the work of the Witch of Carnage.
Even if it was Da, she couldn’t just accuse Neril without any grounds.
It was a procedural formality, but soone had to carry out a proper investigation and secure the evidence.
‘In other words, that mage and Da are in on it together.’
[Hmm. Looks like Tivre really went all in on finding this.]
‘Yeah. The identities of dispatched mages are top secret. If the lord finds out, it becos a real ss.’
Tivre spoke again.
—The mage’s na is Gerd Ginaile.
“Where is he now?”
—He’s hiding under the guise of a common gardener in this territory.
“I’ll go there right—”
Xenia raised her voice in excitent, then shut her mouth tightly.
She quickly changed her tone.
“No, no. Thank you for your cooperation.”
—And what happens to now?
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to ntion your na to my father. You’ll receive a ssage soon enough.”
—Then I’ll wait for that mont. But even if I return to the Holy Knights, I don’t want to see you again.
“Thanks for saying what I wanted to hear.”
—Hmph.
Tivre grumbled like a child and shut off the communication orb.
As the light faded, Xenia tucked it back into her robes.
She quietly looked out the carriage window.
I sighed and said,
“Just say it.”
“Say what?”
“What you’re thinking right now.”
She cautiously turned to .
“…Is it okay?”
“It’s okay.”
“B-But this has nothing to do with your path as a Hero, Mide.”
That’s when Neril spoke.
“This guy isn’t Kaeld.”
“Neril…”
“If it’s Mide, of course he’ll prioritize his companions. Worry about yourself instead.”
“…?”
“You might end up learning sothing pretty shocking from this.”
Xenia smiled as if to say she wasn’t worried.
“I’m not a kid. Wherever people gather, there’s bound to be scheming.”
“…”
“Even the Holy Knights of Light who serve the Celestial God aren’t any different. I’m only worried about how deep the rot goes.”
“…”
“Still, thank you for worrying. ‘Witch of Carnage’ really doesn’t suit you, Neril. You’re a good person.”
Neril muttered in a low voice.
“You’re a good kid too.”
Xenia didn’t seem to hear her.
Anyway, what should I do?
This was the issue I’d been turning over in my mind just earlier.
‘Yeah, reputation is one thing… but it’s hard to keep the party together while hiding Da and Neril’s covert pact.’
No, to be precise, we could keep going like this.
But if we want the party’s bond to grow even stronger, we need to resolve this properly.
After a short while, I made up my mind.
Let’s untangle this ss once and for all.
“Where is Ophelia’s last mission site?”
“The Toth territory.”
“Map, please.”
[That’s what I was waiting for!]
“Here it is.”
I looked over the map Xenia handed .
Trail looked sulky.
‘Why are you sulking over that? I’m the only one who can see your map anyway.’
[Who said I was sulking? There’s no one more open-minded than .]
‘Sure. If you say so.’
To be honest, I didn’t even need to look. I already knew where Toth territory was.
Pointing at a location, I said,
“Southern end of the continent.”
“Yeah. Pretty far from here…”
Xenia glanced at for a reaction.
I gave a small smile and continued.
“Think we could load the carriage onto Agril?”
“Oh! With Agril’s speed, this won’t get in the way of your Hero journey at all!”
“Yeah. But don’t you think it’s kind of blasphemous to load a human carriage onto a divine chariot?”
“Who says nonsense like that! Agril will totally understand!”
Neril gave her an sceptical look.
“Didn’t you act all high and mighty about giving us rides at first?”
“Ugh. That’s because when Agril carries people without divine power, it slowly weakens him. But if I feed him enough divine energy, it’ll be fine.”
“Still, shouldn’t you ask him first and get his consent?”
“Fine, I’ll go ask.”
Xenia leapt onto the roof of the carriage.
Then, summoning Agril, she soared into the sky in an instant.
We waited for quite a while.
So long, in fact, that by the ti we reached the village, night had fully fallen.
While we were waiting for food at the inn, Xenia returned.
“You didn’t order without , right?”
“Did it go well?”
She trudged to a chair and slumped into it.
Then collapsed onto the table.
“I nearly died. My divine energy got completely drained.”
“…”
“Oh, and I’d like my al with at, please.”
So at was the source of your divine power, huh.
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